New York Renovator

We went on a two-day trip and left our half-Siamese baby, Livvy, alone in the house. Well– we also left the two Yorkshire terriers and the cockatiel, too, but they are mere pets. They are also contained (the dogs in a large penned area and the bird in a cage), so Livvy has the rule of the roost while we’re gone.

I have several “pet cams” set up around the house to keep an eye on the critters whenever we are out of town. Previously, we’ve always taken Livvy with us when we travel but this time we decided to leave her home to watch over everything. The surveillance camera monitored all the activity in the house, and we were able to get a good idea of what exactly Livvy does while we’re away.

The first thing she did was hop in my desk chair and snooze. She always sleeps in my desk chair when I’m away.

After a few hours, she realizes that we aren’t back yet. She waits for our return.

Nobody comes in. Hm. She saunters over to the Yorkies. She seems very pleased when they go bananas in their typical Yorky way. They bark, they spin in circles, they crash into each other and trip over the food. I can’t see her on the camera, but I just KNOW she is snickering at them.

We left her PLENTY of food, but she does like her meals “fresh.” She she tips over the cat food bag for a quick bite.

Hm. Nobody comes running to sweep it up.

WHAT IS TAKING THE FAMILY SO LONG?!

She inspects the camera.

“I’m going insane!!! It’s booooring around here! Don’t leave me alone with these nutty dogs!!!”

Unrecorded on any camera, Livvy wanders upstairs. She ferociously gnaws on the white cords to my window miniblinds. How do I know? I come home to find the blinds all mangled and chewed beyond repair. It was her only bad deed but FOR PETE’S SAKE she’s eaten through seven miniblind sets since the summer!!!!

FINALLY we arrive home, and she’s all happy and love-y again. Happy Face.

Oh we haven’t had such a cute Find the Kitty Friday photo in a long time. My daughter got this shot with her cell phne (which explains the grainy-ness of the photo).

I love it when she makes that “peekaboo” face. CUTE!

She’s been in a “hiding mode” lately. We have to constantly check for her, because sometimes *someone* leaves the basement door open and I’m terrified she’ll go down there and through the hatch that leads to the outside. Gotta get her a chip or something. I’ve had too many close calls.

…Just a thought– why don’t cell phones come with better cameras? Even the slick iPhone 4 has a measly 5 MP camera. Is this some purposeful attempt to keep the digital camera industry in business? You know, if I had the choice between a 10MP cell phone camera and a 10 MP digital camera, I’d go with the cell in a second. I wonder if that’s why they don’t improve cell camera technology?

Anyway, have a great weekend folks. Be sure to hug your kittehs.

What IS it with cats and laundry? At least, with THIS cat and laundry.

She’s always skulking around the dirty and clean clothes. She likes to hide behind the mounds surrounding the washer. Then she likes to try to hop in the dryer while I’m pulling them out. Finally, she jumps in the basket of warm unfolded clothing or plops on top of the piles of folded laundry. What a silly girl.

It’s hard to believe she’s 3 1/2 years old now. She’s still such a baby. A big baby. A big laundry-loving, laundry-mooching baby.

We’ve been chipping away, little by little, at the spring cleaning chores I never finished. Livvy always like to lend a paw.

Happy weekend!

…and what’s yours is mine, too.

Livvy! I was going to drink that!

I wasn’t planning on having any Find the Kitty post today, because she’s not been hiding AT ALL lately. It’s been so hot that usually she’s sprawled entirely across the floor, stretched out so every bit of fur is not sticking to another.

That makes me wonder– do cats sweat? How do they perspire extra heat??

Anyway, here’s the photo. Can you find here?

Sorry it’s so dark. She caught me quite by surprise in her new hiding spot, and even stood still for a few seconds to let me snap the photo!!!

Have a blessed weekend, folks.

Livvy hasn’t felt like playing much this week. And I haven’t felt like following her around with the camera, either. It’s been blazing hot, and I think Liv hates the heat as much as I do. She’s rather morose, laying here or there. Not her usual perky self.

So I have a “rerun” Find the Kitty for you today. Sometimes when I am feeling low, I look through her old baby pictures. OOOOO she was so cute!

This was one of the photos that started the Find the Kitty series.

Here she is, before we renovated the kitchen. To remember how it was gives me the heebie jeebies.

Here’s a video when she got her new litter box. We had to teach her to go inside the box. She was fascinated by the flaps.

Have a great weekend! Stay cool!

Can you spot her? Where could she be?

Hint: It’s where cats love to be….

Isn’t she the sweetest thing?! She often hops onto the clothes dryer to nestle in a laundry basket. She cares not if the basket is filled with socks, just as long as it’s warm and cozy. Gotta love cats.

We took her with us on our trip to Virginia. Yes, a 10 hour drive EACH WAY. She was…. vocal. We didn’t need to lock her in a carrier, she behaved well enough with her harness and leash. But we think she howled during the ride because she probably got carsick. After a few hours, she settled down and snoozed. She even used the litter box! What a good girl!

When i told my brother in Virginia that I would be bringing Livvy, he was incredulous. “You’re bringing your cat?!” he said. I explained that Livvy was a member of the family, that Siamese are special, etc etc. He doubted, can you believe it! But as soon as he saw her, he said, “Oh my gosh, what a beautiful cat!” And by the time we were packing up to go back home, my brother asked me if he could have Livvy. I said of course not! What would all her blogging fans do without her?!

After dealing with the flooding, the piles of assignments for my jobs, the domain name transfer hassles and the massive amounts of work that did (and still must do) with yard (mud) cleanup and such, I’m taking Marg’s advice: We’re taking it easy this weekend.

Livvy is, too. She’s such a good example for us all.

We’ll be back, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, early next week. Have a great weekend, my friends.

Typical cat. Gotta love it.

So how’s the blogosphere been? I’ve hardly been on, as my assignments have increased lately and I haven’t had much time for blog reading (and blog writing). Hence my late Find the Kitty post. The weeks have floooooooown by. Wasn’t yesterday Earth Day? Where did the days go?

I really need to slow down…

We had a horrible fright with Livvy the other night. Someone left one of the back doors open, and she was gone. No one noticed for quite some time. My son came to me, asking where Livvy was after he saw the door. Needless to say, we all freaked out. It was late, about 9:30pm or so, dark as anything. Oh Lord, my precious cat…

We eventually found her, skulking behind some shrubs at the property line. I was so angry, I could have throttled her. Sheesh, doesn’t she realize what a terror she causes us sometimes? Anyway, she’s safe and sound. As soon as she came in, she plopped by my feet (warm spot) and bathed herself. And slept soundly all night.

That’s enough adventure for me.